Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 31, 2015

Jul. 30, 2015

Congressional Memo; both House and Senate have failed to pass long-term bill to provide funds for highway construction, opting instead to pass or take up short-term bills that will continue funding until members of both chambers return from recess; failure points to internal divisions within Republican Party and possible obstacles to passing future legislation for funding of federal government and raising debt ceiling. MORE

Jul. 27, 2015

Ridership on the nation's Northeast Corridor rail sector has doubled over past 30 years, even as old and overloaded infrastructure has begun to wear out; corridor, which carries some 750,000 passengers each day on Amtrak and other commuter lines, has become subject to regular disruptions and delays that have left passengers exasperated; money for repairs and improvements has not been forthcoming amid partisan gridlock and accusations that Amtrak has neglected its infrastructure. MORE

Jul. 25, 2015

Editorial scores New Jersey Gov Chris Christie for shortsighted decision to cancel work on new commuter train under Hudson River in 2010; condemns Christie's rerouting of $3 billion in train tunnel funding to fix New Jersey's roads and bridges as blatantly political move designed to avoid raising taxes; holds Christie's maneuvers have caused congestion throughout entire region and impacted thousands of commuters. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

House approves, 312 to 119, $8 billion, five-month funding patch for federal highway trust fund; congressional approval comes with promise to pass, and have Pres Obama sign, overhaul of international business tax code that will provide funding for a long-term transportation bill. MORE

Jul. 6, 2015

Experts say Bureau of Reclamation, federal agency that operates vast network of dams, reservoirs and aqueducts across Western United States, must completely rebuild infrastructure to conserve and distribute water on increasingly warming planet; system, built in 1902 under Pres Theodore Roosevelt, worked well for most of 20th century but is not equipped to handle modern strains (Series: The Parched West). MORE

Jun. 30, 2015

Municipalities throughout California are repairing or replacing water-delivery infrastructure in effort to prevent leaks, something state can ill afford in midst of punishing drought; California's water systems lose an average of 10 percent of water they carry due to leaks. MORE

Jun. 22, 2015

Editorial warns economic growth is decelerating and falling far short of earlier projections; argues Congress has persistently undermined Federal Reserve's focus on investment by tightening nation's fiscal belt; argues what is truly needed is greater public and private investment in economy, particularly spending on roads, bridges, mass transit, railways and basic science. MORE

Jun. 15, 2015

Editorial calls on New Jersey Gov Chris Christie to raise state's irresponsibly low gas tax in order to shore up crumbling roads, rails and bridges; argues that Christie's reluctance to do so is in part fueled by his fear of raising taxes as he pursues Republican presidential nomination; argues that if Christie does not have the will to raise gas tax, New Jersey legislators should propose increase and override his veto. MORE

May. 29, 2015

New Jersey is beset by crumbling roads and bridges and strained transportation budget, as aggravated commuters face another New Jersey Transit fare increase; angry voters are increasingly voicing support for raising state's gas tax, which is second lowest in country. MORE

May. 28, 2015

Gail Collins Op-Ed column addresses funding shortfall for Amtrak, which currently requires some $21 billion of infrastructural upkeep on its Northeast corridor; observes Republicans are deeply opposed to increased funding; argues transportation is essential to well-being of nation, and that Amtrak is a worthy cause, even if some of its components lose money. MORE

May. 20, 2015

House of Representatives votes 387-to-35 in favor of two-month extension of funding for Highway Trust Fund, setting up summer fight over highway and other infrastructure funding; Senate is likely to pass stopgap measure. MORE

May. 18, 2015

Op-Ed article by Prof Richard White argues that deaths of eight Amtrak passengers are direct result of America's love-hate relationship with railroads, and intractable problems that have resulted from it; reviews history of public-private rail partnership, expressing hope that accident can produce greater awareness that passenger rail system is dangerously underfunded. MORE

May. 14, 2015

Democratic lawmakers' demands to increase federal funding for Amtrak are defeated in House panel one day after deadly railroad accident outside Philadelphia, as typical political scenario plays out; incident raises questions over whether Congress will delay mandate to install safety equipment on railway tracks by end of 2015. MORE

May. 13, 2015

Op-Ed article by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett calls on Congress to increase transportation funding; contends nation's system of roads, bridges, subways and trains are in dire need of repair and improvement; warns problem not only presents serious threat to public safety, but also jeopardizes long-term economic security, exacting harsh toll on working Americans and American business. MORE

May. 8, 2015

Transportation Dept official urges New York-area transit leaders to formulate plan to build new rail tunnels under Hudson River; Obama administration considers initiative top priority for rail infrastructure. MORE

May. 7, 2015

Indiana Gov Mike Pence approves Republican-backed measure that would repeal law setting wages for state and local government construction projects. MORE

Apr. 22, 2015

Mar. 4, 2015

Addis Ababa Journal; Ethiopia, once mired in poverty and hunger, is changing, with average economic growth exceeding 10 percent for over decade; government ambitiously aims to make nation a middle-income country by 2025; series of infrastructure projects is underway, with major construction in capital of Addis Ababa. MORE

Mar. 4, 2015

Japanese utilities warn current infrastructure cannot accommodate explosion of solar power production encouraged by new government policies, with some utilities cutting contracts with local solar installations; argue they cannot invest in new facilities without further government commitment to clean energy sources; faltering market threatens Japan's overall goal of using solar to replace output lost output by Fukushima disaster. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses Hudson River between South Nyack and Tarrytown, NY, appears on cover of Pres Obama's 2016 budget; bridge, which is being replaced, has come to represent federal investment in infrastructure. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Nation's locks are deteriorating, slowing barges on rivers and delaying commerce; United States Army Corp of Engineers, whose budget Pres Obama wants to cut, says it needs $13 billion to fix decrepit locks through 2020; 70-year-lock near Paducah, Ky, will be replaced, but not until at least 2023. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Pres Obama's proposed budget contains six-year, $478 billion infrastructure plan, giving 33 percent increase in funding for large, new public works projects; upgrading nation's roads, bridges and ports would be financed by new taxes on American companies' international profits. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Editorial contends extra $5 billion New York State's treasury is flush should be spent on focused, one-shot investments rather than tax cuts or lawmakers' pet projects; suggests several ideas, like improved drinking-water facilities, transfusion to Metropolitan Transportation Authority's deficit, roads and bridges, efforts that will benefit all state residents. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

China is forging ahead with large number of ambitious, multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects despite doubts about country's economy; plans include what will be world's longest underwater tunnel, biggest airport, largest bridge and longest gas pipeline; effort is in line with tradition of enormous public works in China, including Great Wall and Three Gorges Dam. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

Editorial calls on Congress to raise gasoline and diesel fuel tax in order to fund much needed repairs for nation's transit infrastructure and to promote better fuel efficiency; notes that low gas prices make it much easier for politicians to raise the tax; warns that Highway Trust Fund is severely underfunded, and modest 15 cent per gallon increase in taxes would be sufficient. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

Local and state governments nationwide, for first time since 2011, are spending on suspended projects, increasing prosperity; federal spending is also rising in some sectors; Naples, Fla, spent money to help pelicans trapped in fishing lines, in symbol of rising affluence; political pressure to cut spending has eased as federal deficit has dropped sharply; some economists say infrastructure spending and other capital investments will spur economy. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Political Memo; bipartisan economists have seemingly become frustrated with persistent, generation-long stagnation of middle-class incomes; both Democrats and Republicans are considering big policy shifts that could address trend, with Democrats pushing for heavy investment in infrastructure spending and Republicans calling for overhauling energy policy and corporate tax code. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

Experts and elected officials express concerns that falling oil prices may strongly impact local economies in many of nation's oil- and gas-producing states; projected effects include job losses, budget deficits, and freeze on infrastructure-related projects. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

Jeff Sommer Strategies column examines advantages posed by significant drop in oil prices; observes that hard-pressed American consumers now have more spending power; questions whether government will have willpower to devote some of windfall to items with long-term benefits, like repair and redevelopment of battered infrastructure and environmental initiatives. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column posits that fall in oil prices may impeded decisive global response to climate change; warns that the only way to prevent that from happening is if American politicians raise gasoline tax, which would have added benefit of raising funds for addressing country's crumbling infrastructure. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

Editorial praises European Union for plan to pump up investment in public works and increase small-business lending, but warns proposal is overly complicated and self-defeating; argues that insistence on maintaining balanced budget, even as economy weakens, risks continued economic stagnation. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

European Union will announce plan to finance $315 billion in public infrastructure projects over next three years; most of money must come from private lenders. MORE

Nov. 9, 2014

Jim Venturi, responding to New York Gov Andrew Cuomo's call for ideas to modernize New York City aiports, is pushing plan to annex Rikers Island and parts of Bronx for LaGuardia expansion; Venturi's ideas go beyond LaGuardia plan, and envision harnessing working and abandoned infrastructure throughout the boroughs to better connect entire city. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column examines America's reluctance to engage in large-scale infrastructure projects despite fact that efforts have paid rich dividends throughout country's history; argues public investment continues to be acutely needed amid financial recovery; holds impasse flows from the destructive, short-term ideology of the Republican Party and its blind opposition to government spending. MORE

Oct. 25, 2014

China and 20 other countries sign memorandum agreeing to create an international development bank to offer financing for infrastructure projects in underdeveloped countries across Asia; some leading Asian countries refrain from joining the project, which the United States has been quietly lobbying against. MORE

Oct. 12, 2014

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, one of Africa's most ambitious infrastructure projects, is 32 percent complete, with financing, more than $357 million so far, coming from Ethiopians themselves; country will sell excess energy to neighboring countries, which should bring in about $1 billion in annual expert revenue starting in 2021, four years after scheduled completion date. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Portal Bridge in New Jersey, 100-year-old structure blamed for frequent delays on state's Northeast Corridor stretch of railroad, is in desperate need of replacement; Federal transportation officials have estimated the cost of rebuilding it at $900 million, none of which has been allocated to date. MORE

Sep. 2, 2014

Los Angeles's decaying roads, sidewalks and water system reflect challenges many American cities face after years of budget-tightening and delaying basic maintenance; city's size and reliance on automobiles has made Los Angeles symbol of nation's crumbling infrastructure problems. MORE

Sep. 2, 2014

China's Finance Minister removes 20-year ban on local and regional governments from issuing bonds; lifting of ban, along with other amendments, represents shift in approach to China's long-standing problem of how to finance infrastructure projects without allowing local and regional governments to build up unsustainable levels of debt. MORE

Aug. 4, 2014

Crumbling infrastructure in Philippines is serious drain on economy and obstacle to nation's growth; 2.2 million vehicles daily on Manila's overcrowded road system costs more than $20 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted energy; Philippine economy is one of Asia's fastest growing, upwards of $250 billion. MORE

Aug. 2, 2014

Gail Collins Op-Ed column observes that an intransigent Congress was at least able to pass a short-term fix to the imperiled Highway Trust Fund, even as it failed to act on a number of more important measures; notes that proposal was funded by dubious practice known as 'pension smoothing,' which allows companies to put less than the required amount into their pension funds on a temporary basis, raising tax revenue. MORE

Aug. 1, 2014

Jul. 31, 2014

The Upshot; Congressional Republicans and Democrats are fighting over how to get money in Federal Highway Trust Fund, which is set to run dry, and fight has boiled down to 'pension smoothing,' budgetary gimmick that only pretends to raise revenue. MORE

Jul. 18, 2014

Indian Prime Min Narendra Modi has pledged to tackle host of economic problems, improve infrastructure and improve electricity supply in long-troubled city of Varanasi; effort is seen as case study for Modi's ambition to make improvements in vast swaths of country that have lagged behind cities like Mumbai and Bangalore in development. MORE

Jul. 17, 2014

New York's Public Authorities Control Board approves $256 million loan from federal clean-water funds to New York State Thruway Authority to help finance building of a $3.9 billion twin-span replacement for Tappan Zee Bridge. MORE

Jul. 16, 2014

House easily approves short-term fix to nearly depleted federal highway trust fund, as prospects of hundreds of thousands of job losses and stalled road construction in August overwhelmed the protests of conservative groups that opposed bill; without the federal help, states were already planning to halt and delay thousands of projects. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"ARTICLES ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE (PUBLIC WORKS)","query":"(des=\"INFRASTRUCTURE (PUBLIC WORKS)\" or des=\"PUBLIC WORKS\") and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"List\" and tom!=\"Paid Death Notice\" and dsk!=\"Society\"","search_query":"(subject:\"INFRASTRUCTURE \\(PUBLIC WORKS\\)\" OR subject:\"PUBLIC WORKS\") AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"List\" AND -type_of_material:\"Paid Death Notice\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\"","num_search_articles":"15","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"INFRASTRUCTURE (PUBLIC WORKS);PUBLIC WORKS","exclude":[""],"more_on_header":"MORE ON INFRASTRUCTURE (PUBLIC WORKS) AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}